The Relationship Between Lipid Peroxidation, Serum Antioxidant Vitamin, Inflammatory Biomarker, Trace Elements, and Macro-Minerals With Bangladeshi Fibromyalgia Patients: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Fibromyalgia is an emerging health concern in Bangladesh, with symptoms that tend to worsen over time. This study sought to measure serum lipid peroxidation, nonenzymatic antioxidant, C-reactive protein (CRP), macro-minerals, and trace elements in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) patients to explore their association with disease progression.

METHODS

The investigation involved 50 fibromyalgia patients (cases) and 50 healthy individuals (controls) in Bangladesh. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured to assess lipid peroxidation utilizing spectrophotometry. UV spectrophotometric technique was employed for the determination of vitamin C, while serum levels of macro-minerals (Mg and Ca) and trace elements (Zn and Cu) were quantified using atomic absorption spectroscopy. CRP level was ascertained by using CRP-Latex agglutination assay.

RESULTS

Our study identified markedly increased levels of MDA (4.26 ± 0.04 nmol/mL,  < 0.001), CRP (17.13 ± 8.95 mg/L,  < 0.001), and notably reduced vitamin C levels (17.6 ± 1.84 µmol/L,  < 0.001) in the FMS group compared with healthy controls (HC). Mean serum values of Ca, Mg, Zn, and Cu were 7725.2 ± 202.43 µg/dL, 1173.6 ± 6.00 µg/dL, 69.62 ± 0.69 µg/dL, and 144.66 ± 0.80 µg/dL for the patient group and 8718 ± 169.95 µg/dL, 1619.4 ± 10.32 µg/dL, 91.4 ± 0.86 µg/dL, and 115.28 ± 0.96 µg/dL for the control group, respectively. A significant difference was observed for all macro-minerals and trace elements between the FMS and the HC groups. Moreover, Pearson's correlation study revealed a significant positive and negative correlation between Mg and Cu in the FMS group ( = 0.328,  = 0.02) and in the HC group ( = -0.305,  = 0.032), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that elevated serum MDA, depleted serum concentrations of vitamin C, and altered trace elements and macro-mineral concentrations characterize the FMS patients in Bangladesh.